We want Priyanka Gandhi to concentrate on South too: D K Shivakumar
Bengaluru, May 19: Ahead of Karnataka Assembly elections next year, State Congress President D K Shivakumar on Thursday said the party wants its national General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to "concentrate" on the South where elections are coming up.
This comes amid speculation in a section of the Karnataka Congress leaders, including Shivakumar, that it wants her to contest the June 10 Rajya Sabha polls from Karnataka.
"...she had actively campaigned during the recent elections (to five States), we are requesting her to do the same during the next elections. I have not put it (across). We want (her) to concentrate on the South also," Shivakumar said in response to a question on reports that he has insisted on Priyanka Gandhi to contest the Rajya Sabha polls from Karnataka.
Responding to a query on possible candidates for Rajya Sabha polls, the KPCC chief said, "We have a tradition in our party for Rajya Sabha polls, we will abide by what they (central leadership) say...even now keeping the national interest in mind, they will decide."
The elections to four seats of Rajya Sabha is necessitated as the term of office of members - Nirmala Sitharaman (Union Finance Minister) and K C Ramamurthy of BJP, and Jairam Ramesh and late Oscar Fernandes of Congress is due to expire on June 30.
Regarding candidates for polls to seven Legislative Council seats to be elected by MLAs scheduled for June 3, Shivakumar said he would hold a discussion with Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah in this regard.
"We have discussed one round, we will discuss another round, after that we will take a call. There are only two seats for us, our options are very limited, and many people are seeking (tickets). Whatever is in the interest of the party, the high command will decide," he said.
The election to Legislative Council is necessitated as the term of office of seven members is going to expire on June 14.
In this election, each MLC candidate would require a minimum of 29 votes to win.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
